Do you buy / download legal mp3s?

[Baphnedia]

If so, from where? There are too many companies to list for a poll, but I'd like to get an idea of what mp3 companies are good and why. As for myself, I find places where I can get the CD for less than $15, and buy the hard-copy albums. Unless, it's one of these new RIAA-brand protected albums. Those things suck.

[Vuldari]

The only music I download as MP3's are independant, ameteur music that the creators put out for free. If I'm going to pay for it, I prefer the higher quality audio one gets on a CD album. (which is in some form of .wav format, I beleive.)

I dunno...i-tunes...Napster... I don't use any of them.

(I guess there really was no reason for me to repond to this thread then, hunh?...)

[Lupin]

I tend to buy the CDs and rip them myself, since I'm picky about bitrate and tags and stuff like that.

(which is in some form of .wav format, I beleive.)

WAV is just a container fomat (like AVI), one can stick a bunch of things in there, including mp3 compressed audio.

[Baphnedia]

(I guess there really was no reason for me to repond to this thread then, hunh?...)

Not entirely Vuldari. There are some artists that have some of their stuff out for free... including.... wait. I just can't say it yet... because before I tell anyone that I have my music online for free, I want to tell them all the place s (rhapsody, etc) that they can download and pay for it from. I'm sure they'll stay away from the downloads area of Paradice Net and turn a blind eye to my music... I'm sure of it.

[Shadow Wulf]

I like burning cds cause some albums have a bunch of songs you dont like. But the thing is when you buy a CD it feels like an achievement.

[Scott Gardener]

I've bought tracks off iTunes and Napster (the 2.0, legal version). Each use different formats, but both can be burned to CD. These can subsequently be ripped to mp3. Though technically you're not supposed to do so according to the EULA, this is only because they do not want the music being re-uploaded and file-shared illegally, with the licensing DRM bypassed. Since I'm not doing that, I prefer to convert the music to a format that my car CD player will actually play. AAC and .wma are both competing proprietary formats. One plays on the iPod, while the other plays on a lot of other things. Mp3 plays on everything; nothing else does.

Proprietary formats tend to come and go; industry standard formats last longer. Consider the VHS versus Betamax situation that has repeated itself time and again. When you've got days worth of music archived, you don't want to wake up one morning and have to convert it all from one format to another, with generational loss and hours and hours of time spent to get it into something usable again. I'm already fearful of having to do that with my text documents, which I already save as rich text or html rather than MS Word--which, by the way, may be getting replaced in Office 2006.

I see converting to mp3 without subsequently pirating as effectively and logically the same as ripping CDs to mp3. I try to get all my music converted to mp3, as a standard format that works with all my present and future players without worry of sudden death from DRM license glitches or incompatability with future players. It's the most convenient and portable format.

I do download music that's already in the mp3 format as well, but I do not download pirated music. A lot of independent artists make their music available for free as mp3s.

[Shadow Wulf]

by the way do you know how to upload videos from my vcr to my computer?

[Vilkacis]

I neither buy nor download music mp3s. Nor obtain music CDs, for that matter.

I suppose I'm rather atypical in that regard -- at least, as far as people my age go. There's some music I like a lot, but, for the most part, I've never really understood the great appeal.

I suppose that simplifies life.

I do listen to Japan-a-radio all the time; however, that is simply because of my interest in the language. I will happily work in complete silence.

-- Vilkacis

[Baphnedia]

You, my friend, lead a very silent life... and I don't mean that it's a bad thing either. From my perspective, I'd think of it as an unfortunate thing, for to me, you are the Baker's friend who won't eat.

[white]

Myself, I tend to stick to free stuff, much like Vuldari. In fact, I don't even remember ever buying a CD and actually listening to it, or even bothering to rip it. I'm normally perfectly happy with silence, and when I do listen to music, I usually do just that, giving it my full attention. For one thing, I seem to respect my hearing more than most of my peers; frequently I can hear the music other people are playing in in-ear headphones as loud as I listen to my music from speakers.

[Scott Gardener]

Shadow Wulf:

To get video from VCR to digital you need video capture equipment, both software and hardware. The hardware consists of a device usually with RCA or S-Video inputs on one end and a USB 2.0 connector on the other. A word of caution; most devices have terrible reviews on tech sites like C-Net, so be prepared. Software is usually included with the hardware, though it could be the problem for the bad reviews. Adobe Premiere might be a better choice, but I haven't tried it myself. It's an area where I'm woefully behind.

Another method, and the one I'll probably adopt, is to get a VCR / DVD recorder combo unit. Record your video to DVD, and then rip from DVD to hard drive. There's a number of DVD-ripping software out there, though the ones that bypass CSS encryption were yanked off the market for legal reasons. But, DVDs you record yourself don't have that problem. Oh, and make sure it's a DVD recorder and not just a player with a VCR attached, and that it can record from one side to the other.

But, VCR / DVD combo units I understand won't record commercial videotapes to DVD, thus pointing out the archival problems I have with DRM technology and its predecessors. (Show me where the Georgio Moroder soundtrack version of Metropolis is available on DVD. It's been out of print for more than ten years, and VHS has a shelf life of, guess what, ten years.)

If you're rich, it might be worth the convenience of getting both a combo DVD/VHS recorder and a viceo capture device. That way, you can have the speed and convenience of transcoding your own recordings, and a way of video capturing "copy-protected" VHS tapes so you don't have to lose them.

If you're on a budget, the video capture device with bundled software will run around $100 here in the U.S.; it's the cheapest approach, and it should get all your tapes. But, the process will be time-consuming as you'll have to babysit each tape one at a time. That, and cross your fingers on the software part.

Windows XP comes with Windows Movie Maker, which can capture video, though it only saves files in the .wmv format. Macs are less familiar to me, but I understand they're now bundled with a significantly better video editor. (Ask Mr. Anthony Brownrigg; he's a Mac guy, and I understand he knows a bit about capturing video.)

[Vuldari]

Shadow Wulf:

To get video from VCR to digital you need video capture equipment, both software and hardware. The hardware consists of a device usually with RCA or S-Video inputs on one end and a USB 2.0 connector on the other. A word of caution; most devices have terrible reviews on tech sites like C-Net, so be prepared.

You're right...the external capture devices usually have mixed results. (though my brother, who is a video NUT uses such a device, so at least SOME must be good. However...if he had the budget, he has told me he would prefer to have what's below.)
...|
\/

The capabilities of an "Entertainment center" style DVD burner box are not what I would reccomend as an alternative though.

What I would reccomend is one of THESE

Ati "All in Wonder Pro"

It's a graphics card with video capture/editing components built in. The bundled software is fairly decent too...though it is fully compatable with third party and open-soucrce alternative software as well. ...if you have the patience to learn to make it work.

...it is also a heck of alot pricier than an external box though.

[Shadow Wulf]

Wow I had no idea there was so much steps in the process, but anyway Im already intended to get ATI Radeon 9600 XT. Thanks Scott I appreciate it.

[dnl]

I personally like Geforce cards there less expensive and the performance is marginally at the most. Thu NVIDIA has had some problems recently.

[PariahPoet]

Wal-Mart sells individual mp3's for about 80 cents each.

[Scott Gardener]

Are they mp3s? Most digital music available for purchase are .wma, with the notable exception of iTunes' .aac. Their service alone is popular enough perhaps to overshadow all .wma services combined.

I subscribe to Napster, and I purchase tracks from both Napster and iTunes.

emusic has mp3s; they're mostly independent labels, and they're a subscription service. As long as you're subscribed, you're allowed a certain number of downloads per month. The downloaded mp3s are unrestricted files, with no DRM crippling. For that reason alone, they're worth considering.

[PariahPoet]

Well, to be honest, I prefer wma, but i'm pretty sure they're mp3 at wally world.

[Baphnedia]

Wow - this certainly got resurrected from the distant past (this thread started almost a year ago)...

Well, since I posted here originally, I decided to get into the digital distribution market... totalling 52 companies, some of which are dead:

Apple iTunes June 15, 2004
MusicMatch June 16, 2004
Napster June 25, 2004
Weed July 22, 2004
EMEPE3 - DEAD August 17, 2004
MP3tunes August 18, 2004
Etherstream - DEAD August 18, 2004
Viztas - DEAD August 19, 2004
QTRnote August 19, 2004
MSN Music September 7, 2004
MusicNet September 25, 2004
LoudEye-OD2 September 25, 2004
Music4Cents - DEAD October 5, 2004
Mperia October 19, 2004
OnlinePromo - DEAD November 4, 2004
RuleRadio November 5, 2004
DigiPie November 6, 2004
WeedFiles (WeedICP) December 29, 2004
Ruckus January 21, 2005
Bitmunk January 27, 2005
MusicNow January 27, 2005
Weedtracks (Share New York) February 11, 2005
PlayIndies March 17, 2005
Rhapsody March 18, 2005
BuyMusic June 21, 2005
Chondo August 2, 2005
Liquid Digital Media October 25, 2005
Tradebit November 18, 2005
NextRadio November 19, 2005
PayPlay November 20, 2005
NetMusic - DEAD November 23, 2005
AudioLunchbox November 24, 2005
WrapFactory November 29, 2005
Puretracks December 8, 2005
Interia December 9, 2005
MP3-Extension December 11, 2005
GroupieTunes December 28, 2005
MusicIsHere December 30, 2005
MOD Systems January 4, 2006
Destra January 13, 2006
Choice Records January 27, 2006
Verizon Wireless March 17, 2006
Daiki March 20, 2006
Inprodicon April 2, 2006
Arvato April 3, 2006
DigitalKiosk April 22, 2006
GreatIndieMusic April 24, 2006
YooPeDoo April 28, 2006
Sony Connect May 12, 2006
Enterport - DEAD May 22, 2006
Sonific June 29, 2006
PassAlong July 22, 2006

Not sure if any of these go into Wal-mart's distribution though....

[strykeriuswolf]

Its been a while sence ive used it but i use Kazza

[Baphnedia]

Hehe. Well, you probably don't want to admit to something like that. The R1AA might be watching....